The sudden blaze caught the goblins off guard, their chaotic bickering shifting to screams of panic as the flames engulfed the huts. The smell of burning wood mixed with the rancid scent of the camp, creating an even more overwhelming stench that filled the air. Fuwa's heart raced as she watched the scene unfold; the goblins were stumbling over each other in their rush to escape the fire, a few even tripping and falling into the flames. What once looked like a heated discussion now was a full-fledged fight, goblin's grabbed their weapons and began striking at each other, as if they suspected one of them had started the fire, they were stupid creatures.
Thus, the battle became even more gruesome, and the fire rapidly began to spread to other huts. Goblins began to surge from those huts infuriated charging against their brothers, Raven could swear she saw a fat goblin raising a big wooden bat and striking the face of another goblin, forcing one the eyes of his victim to fly away.
The system was mad telling them that they were receiving experience, it was annoying.
"Now's our chance!" Raven shouted over the chaos, her voice rising above the din. She drew her dagger, its blade glinting in the flickering light of the flames.
As both girls charged into the fray, the goblins didn't care at all. Maybe it was because they were stupid, or maybe it was because their hatred towards each other was bigger than the lust to catch the girls. Fuwa positioned herself in front of one that was stabbing another one in the gut and released a potent kick, breaking that goblin's neck for sure.
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As the isekaie'd girl watched Raven killing a goblin with an evil grin on her face she remembered her grandfather.
'Martial arts aren't a weapon to be used for your own gain' His words resonated in her head as she was punching a goblin all over his upper body like a machinegun 'Martial arts are meant to defend yourself, and your loved ones' She smiled sadly and then took a deep breath, the goblin was dead and her hands were stained with his blood 'I'm sorry grandpa, I thank you for your lessons, but now I will fight over to survive in this place'
"『Aqua Shield』!" She heard a scream behind her.
The prismatic aquatic shield intercepted an arrow that almost hit her head, she let out a surprised gasp, she was so lost in thought that she wasn't paying enough attention to the battlefield. Raven then throws her dagger against the goblin archer, hitting him on the shoulder and causing it to flinch into the fire. The fiend started screaming as the fire consumed him. That was the choice Raven had made, even though she didn't understand why, but the enemy wasn't waiting, and two goblins had already jumped towards her when she had thrown her weapon.
"Crap!" Said Raven now without her trusted dagger as the two goblins fell on top of her.
Raven stumbled as the two goblins tackled her to the ground, their clawed hands grasping at her in a frenzied attempt to overpower her. In that split second, Fuwa felt a surge of adrenaline coursing through her. She couldn't let Raven be overwhelmed, not after she had taken that risk to save her.
Raven!" Fuwa shouted, her voice ringing out over the chaos as she raced toward her friend.
With a powerful burst of energy, Fuwa executed a swift, low kick to one of the goblins, sending it sprawling to the side. The second goblin, momentarily distracted, glanced up just in time to see Fuwa's fist barreling toward his face. She channeled her training into the strike, snapping her wrist forward and connecting with a satisfying thud. The goblin's head snapped back, and it crumpled like a rag doll.
"He... we are even now..." Raven gasped, scrambling to her feet. She brushed off the dirt and grime, and ran towards the torched goblin retrieving her dagger, taking some damage since the handle was hot "Shit!" She said loudly then touched Fuwa with her good hand "『Aqua Heal』" The healing spell taking effect on both of them alleviated a little the fatigue, and in Raven's case the pain as well.
The chaos around them intensified as the goblins fought amongst themselves, their brutal, chaotic nature unleashed in the midst of the fire. The air was thick with the acrid smell of smoke, and the screams of dying goblins echoed eerily in the forest. Raven and Fuwa exchanged a glance, a silent agreement passing between them. They needed to take advantage of the confusion.
One goblin that just had finished his brother was roaring in victory and spotted Fuwa, then he lunged at her, swinging a crude dagger. Fuwa sidestepped, pivoting on her heel, and delivered a swift roundhouse kick to its chest, knocking it backward into the flames that flickered just behind them.
"Take that, you creep!" she shouted, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she felt the warmth of the fire behind her.
"Keep moving!" Raven called, her voice a mix of encouragement and urgency as she stabbed through the eyes of one of the goblins who had noticed her.
The battle was fierce and chaotic. Fuwa could see a group of goblins pulling down a burning hut, the flames licking higher as they tried to salvage whatever they could from the wreckage. She could see inside the hut more bodies of dead girls, some even in worst conditions than the ones she saw before. The grotesque sight of them fighting over the remains sent a chill down her spine, but she pushed the feeling aside.
"Hey, Fuwa! Watch out!" Raven shouted, and Fuwa barely had time to react.
A goblin, larger and more grotesque than the others, charged toward her, its eyes wild with rage. Fuwa dodged just in time, but the creature's clawed hands swiped at her, grazing her arm. She winced at the sting but quickly regained her focus.
[Goblin Chief - Thraaig - lvl2 - Boss]
Fuwa sidestepped again and countered with a powerful elbow strike to the goblin's side, causing it to stagger back. Before it could recover, she followed up with a series of quick punches, channeling her frustration and fear into every blow. Raven tackled down a goblin that was about to backstab her companion and began wrestling with it on the ground, surprisingly the creature wasn't that weak, it actually was resisting Raven grip.
[Goblin minion lvl1]
[Goblin minion lvl1]
As Raven soon discovered he wasn't alone, maybe they were the personal guards of the boss, another strongly-looking goblin came down at her almost crushing her head with a mace. For the fiends it was an easy choice, if they can't defile her then they can kill her. aven's instincts kicked in as she rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the mace that smashed into the ground, sending dirt and splinters flying. She quickly pushed herself to her feet, her heart racing as she assessed the two goblins now bearing down on her.
"『Fire Butterfly Swarm』!" She cast once again but both goblins avoided her attack. The butterflies ended up flying towards the goblins that were quarreling against each other and exploded.
Fuwa was locked in combat with the Goblin Chief Thraaig, her focus solely on him. She ducked under another wild swing from the Chief's massive club, her breath quickening with each close call.
"『Mountain Stance』" Fuwa used one of her martial art skills as her defensive capacities improved, the rex monster smiled enjoying the challenge, and made a gesture and pronounced some words in an alien language, but it sounded like come at me bitch.
With a determined leap, Fuwa launched a powerful kick to Thraaig's knee, which landed on the monster but he didn't stagger or show his pain, instead, he punched Fuwa on her stomach sending her flying into one of the goblin minions. That would have been fatal if she hadn't used her defensive skill.
The goblin leader sprinted toward the girls and smashed a goblin that was in the way with his huge mace, he was trying to ram Fuwa into one of the buildings using his shoulder, but the girl evaded at the last moment throwing a couple of swift punches at his side in the process.
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Raven had finished strangling the goblin that was thrown by Fuwa's impact using her legs while stabbing nonstop at the other one, it wasn't that hard if she put some effort into it.
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The hulking monster came out of the burning building, its eyes narrowing as it focused on both of the girls. Thraaig's skin glistened with sweat, dark and slick against the flames licking around them, making him look even more menacing. He roared, a guttural sound that echoed through the chaos, the noise cutting through the screams and crackling of the fire like a knife.